First Western Trust Bank Sells 2,587 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Western Trust Bank reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 42,212 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,587 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 0.3% of First Western Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of ABT opened at $134.41 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $233.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $107.11 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.47.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.